The World's Best Book Summaries
In The Art of War, Sun Tzu suggests you “let your plans be dark and impenetrable as night.” What does Tzu mean by this? How can you hide your plans? We’ll cover the art of deception and how to appear so formless in your attack that your enemy can’t discover your master plan. Learn how to let your plans be dark and impenetrable as night.
The phrase “know your enemy” comes from Sun Tzu’s The Art of War. What did he mean when he said you should know your enemy? How did he suggest you do it? Sun Tzu says, “If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles.” We’ll cover how knowing your enemy gives you the advantage. We’ll also cover what to look for in order to accurately read your enemy.
In The Art of War, Sun Tzu says, “All warfare is based on deception.” What does Tzu mean by this? Deception was an important element of Sun Tzu’s battle strategies. Learn why all warfare is based on deception.
How were the credit rating agencies involved in the financial crisis of 2007-2008? Why did they fail so miserably in their role rating subprime? We’ll cover how credit rating agencies contributed to the financial crisis and why their failures were the result of both incompetence and greed.
What happened to Household Finance Corporation? Why did it have to pay a $484 million fine, and how did the scandal serve as a harbinger of the coming greed and deception of the subprime loan market? Household Finance Corporation was a leading corporation providing mortgage loans. It was merged with HSBC in 2004 after a loan fraud scandal. Learn how the Household Finance Corporation scandal affected customers and what the attitudes of the corporation’s leader and those tasked with protecting consumers say about the causes of the 2008 financial crisis.
What is a synthetic CDO, or synthetic collateralized debt obligation? A synthetic CDO is a type of CDO that bundles credit default swaps into a new financial product. While a traditional CDO is valued based on cash assets like mortgage payments, the value of synthetic CDOs comes from the premiums paid on bets that certain bundles of securities (like mortgages) will default. We’ll cover what synthetic CDOs are, why they’re so confusing, and how their involvement in the 2008 financial crisis makes them controversial.
What is specialty finance? What does it offer, and how is it risky? Did specialty finance loans contribute to the 2008 financial crisis? Specialty finance is the euphemistic name of financial industries that provide financial products and services to the least-creditworthy Americans, people who wouldn’t be able to get a loan from a traditional bank. Learn how the industry of specialty finance became lucrative and how its preying on uncreditworthy Americans contributed to the 2008 financial crisis.
How did the actions of AIG lead to the 2008 crisis that affected millions of Americans? Did AIG know the role it was playing in the catastrophe, or was it ignorant of the wider implications of its business practices? And who paid the price for AIG’s bailout? We’ll cover how AIG insurance company (American International Group) aided banks in the events that would lead to the 2008 financial crisis and the results of the 2008 AIG bailout.
When entering a negotiation, you often think only of your own interests. How could it benefit you to negotiate a deal that results in mutual gains? And is it possible to achieve mutual gains without compromising what you want? Believe it or not, finding mutual gains is in your best interest as well as the other party’s best interest. We’ll look at why seeking mutual gains is important in negotiations and how to find mutual gains.
Do you get tongue-tied when asking for what you want? Do you find effective communication in negotiation difficult? You’re not alone. Many people find communication in negotiation difficult, or they find that their negotiations are unsuccessful and they don’t know why. Learn why miscommunication issues occur and what you can do to more effectively communicate in negotiations.